


Turning Point

by CruelisnotMason



Category: Free!
Genre: First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:48:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21893911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CruelisnotMason/pseuds/CruelisnotMason
Summary: It's a new dynamic that formed right under his nose and Rin suspects his recent habit of pulling back has something to do with it.
Relationships: Matsuoka Rin/Nanase Haruka
Comments: 6
Kudos: 80





	Turning Point

**Author's Note:**

> It's 3am I'm tired

It's a blink and miss kind of situation for a while until it's not.

No matter how hard Rin blinks and tries to dismiss the new casualty with which Haru touches him or leans in, after years of embarrassing childhood-pining and pent up teenage years, it's nothing that Rin can take that easy. 

It's a new dynamic that formed right under his nose and Rin suspects his recent habit of pulling back has something to do with it. 

It's not like he knows how to interpret what resulted of it now. 

Hugs aren't something completely new. Generally, Haru acting like he truly cares isn't either. Not when, like today, Haru went out of his way to call him this Saturday evening and ask for Rin's plans. Rin immediately knew it's Haru's call. All his other friends just text when they want to meet up, like _normal_ people. 

"Do you have mackerel?" The tinny voice from the other side of the line demands to know. Rin feels the creases in his forehead appear all by themselves.

"Haru, I d—" 

"Then I'll buy some. See you in half an hour." 

Before Rin can reply, his phone beeps, signaling that Haru ended his call. Rin stands in his flat, dumbfounded, phone still pressed against his ear. 

"What the actual fuck," he mutters and walks to the kitchen, getting oil and salt out of the cupboard. He's surprised and a little annoyed, Rin wants to tell himself. His heart betrays him nonetheless. It's not so much annoyance as it is anticipation that he feels over Haru's call. 

That has been a couple of hours ago. Since then, Haru marched into his flat and then straight to his kitchen, pulling out a cooking knife and a chopping board. Rin's mind is still occupied with the way Hat hugs him to greet him since recently, explaining how he saw Rin do it with his foreign friends. Rin bites back an embarrassed remark. 

He can complain all he wants but the fish Haru cooks is decent and a good meal. Additionally it means that Rin doesn't need to cook for himself today and can relax instead. 

Rin puts in the new documentary he ordered half a month ago — it's about newly discovered sea animals for a reason — and turns the TV on. 

When Haru's done cooking, they eat on the couch. It's been a habit that Haru slowly took on himself, much to his own disdain. 

As his eyes are plastered to the bright blue screen while sitting comfortably on the cheap couch in Rin's apartment, Rin watches Haru more than he watches the screen. Every time they spend an evening like that, Haru seems to sit closer to him. Sometimes Haru's elbow is on Rin's shoulder, which makes Rin think that he somehow entered a parallel universe all of a sudden. 

Sometimes, recently more often than not, Haru gets sleepy and puts his head on Rin's shoulder. He's so close, because of his own will, because he _wants_ to be close to Rin. Rin still hasn't processed that. 

Haru must know that Rin doesn't care much for Mackerel or for ocean documentaries. He must know that Rin would rather read or watch one of his favorite American TV shows but quietly accepts all the things he knows Haru wants to do when he's over. The habit of always bickering died down when Rin realized that Haru might stop coming over one day if he kept complaining about him. 

Haru never stopped coming. 

His face is close. Rin both hears and feels his gentle breath against his cheek and nostrils and wonders what would happen if he simply turned his head a little. He wonders if Haru is bold enough to take their last bit of distance and press his lips against him. 

Rin's a coward. 

He stares at the screen now, shoulders tense and hands gripping the armrest on his side. He even thinks about dropping his shoulder a little so Haru's head simply slides off. Frustrated, Rin realizes, he can only take so much of this blurry line between friendship and something else. 

It's as if Haru heard his thoughts, it's as if he's doing another push when Rin pulls back. 

"Rin." Haru's voice is so quiet. "Have you ever kissed someone before?"

 _Oh_. How the tables have turned. 

It's a quiet murmur, so low that Rin feels the voice vibrating against his shoulder and ear. It does _things_ to him. Rin's grip on the armrest gets tighter. 

"I—" Rin looks away from the screen and away from Haru, eyes searching for something in his flat to focus on. "Yeah," he then admits. 

Haru doesn't respond for a while. 

There are signs that are easy to miss but then again, Haru never was one for subtlety. 

"Sorry," Rin adds for a loss of things to say. His mind works frantically, wondering if he fucked up. And that if he stayed as painfully oblivious as he likes to in order to save himself the heartbreak he won't be able to handle, he's going to ruin his chance before he even had a try at it. 

Rin feels the weight on his shoulder lighten and realizes with a drop in his gut that Haru's pulling away. Rin snaps his head to him and reaches for Haru's hand like on autopilot. 

"Haru." Rin can't meet his eyes yet. "It was nothing. I did it because I thought I'd be left behind." 

He raises his head to meet Haru's eyes. He needs to gain his bravery back. Needs to gain his habit of pushing, when someone else pulls, back. 

Haru's expression isn't neutral, Rin thinks. It's handsome. It's expressing a lot. Rin learned to read him when Haru learned to allow himself feelings. It works. They understand each other better now. 

"You could have said something," he says. Rin's heart throbs painfully. But anger is pulling at him, too. He's still holding Haru's hand. The documentary keeps on running. The blue light reflects on Haru's face. 

"You could have—" Rin starts and wills his voice down. "You could have told me that you knew." 

_"The basket star, a cousin of the starfish that is often found…"_

The voice from the TV calmly narrates in the background, keeping the room from descending into an uncomfortable quiet. Rin's heart thumps so quickly he thinks it must be audible. 

One look at Haru's face and it suddenly hits him. Haru _had_ told him. 

With all the gestures, with the out-of-the-blue calls, with being close. He told Rin loud and clearly, in his own way. 

It's just like them to hit and miss each other. 

It's so typical, it's almost laughable. Rin snorts. Haru's eyebrows furrow. 

"What's so funny," Haru mutters and turns away. 

"Shit. You _were_ flirting with me that whole time." He was wondering what it meant. Rin's voice is breathy and high. The whole situation suddenly seems hilarious. He can't hide the laugh in his tone. 

" _Goodbye_ ," Haru says, voice sour, and stands abruptly, hands on the keys on the small table next to the door so quickly, Rin can barely comprehend what's happening. 

"Shit," he jumps up and follows Haru, shuts the door when Haru just opened it an inch. "No Haru. Stay, please." 

"You're making fun of me." 

"I'm not, I swear." 

Haru doesn't look at him, face turned to the door. "Swear on the cherry blossom tree in our elementary school backyard."

Rin laughs. Now _Haru_ is messing with him. He's got so much dry humor, Rin muses. If one really listens. 

"I swear, I swear." 

Haru's back is still turned to Rin. He awkwardly hovers in front of the door with Rin right behind him. "I didn't want to mock you," Rin mutters softly. He sees Haru's shoulders relax. His head is still turned. 

"I always wanted to kiss you." Rin admits then. It's not easy. He was used to hiding it for so long. 

There's a faint pink blush on Haru's ears. Rin thinks it's endearing. His heart thumps again and the sound of blood rushes in his ears. "For so long," he adds. 

Rin holds his breath, waiting for Haru to say something, anything. "Yeah," Rin hears him say. 

It's the sign, the mark where they meet again. Where pushing and pulling brings them together, finally. 

Rin leans forward, now on his tiptoes to press his lips against the nape of the neck where the black hair curls against Haru's collar. Long and steadily. 

When Rin pulls back, he waits for Haru to turn. He almost expects him to open the door and run, now that Rin doesn't stop him. 

But slowly, setting one foot next to the other, Haru turns to him, expression flustered, vulnerable. Rin's mouth falls open. He never knew Haru could look like that. 

Haru takes a first step into his space, pushing himself again. It's been years, Rin realizes, since they met each other. And Haru changed so much, even though subtly. 

Rin doesn't dare to speak _or_ move, simply stays in place when Haru raises his hand to touch his cheek. It's a gentle movement, the way his slim index finger strokes over Rin's temple and down to his throat. 

Rin doesn't believe it until he sees Haru moving in, closing the last few inches until his lips press against Rin's. The soft brush sparks a fire so deep in Rin that he forgets both to breathe and close his eyes and stares at Haru's face instead. Haru's eyelashes are thick and curved, his face relaxed. Rin's mind is a mess. 

Haru opens one annoyed eye to look up at Rin, practically scolding him wordlessly for not closing his eyes. Rin quickly shuts them close and presses back, indulges in the feeling of something he memorized by his daydreams and imagination. 

Haru pulls back first after a while, leaving a red-faced Rin room to breathe. Rin is thankful, thinking he must have been close to suffocating from excitement. 

"Let's watch the end of the documentary," Haru proposes and waits. Just like that, they shifted slowly into something new. 

"Haru," Rin laughs, giddiness barely containable in his voice. "You're just…" _'you'_ he wants to say but thinks better of it. He closes his eyes for a moment, opens them again and reaches for Haru to pull him to him. 

"You're perfect," Rin confesses and kisses him again. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this fic, feel free to retweet it [here. ](https://twitter.com/CruelisB/status/1208683060557942785?s=19)


End file.
